The App
Breckland Astro now boasts a user-friendly app. It offers membership actions, a schedule of events, weather forecasts, the moon phase and the latest newsletter. This app is likely to become the go-to source for all things BAS.
Additionally, the app provides a convenient way to return to the full website.
Just tap the refresh button like any other app. You can also use the orange bell to toggle notifications on or off if you change your mind.
Android Install
To install Breckland Astro on Android, visit brecklandastro.org.uk in your Chrome browser. Then, click “Install and create shortcut”.
You should now have a Breckland Astro icon on your home screen.
iPhone Install
To install Breckland Astro on iOS, go to brecklandastro.org.uk in Safari, click share and then “Add to Home Screen”. You should see an icon on your Home Screen.
Home Screen Icon
The Home Screen icon on iOS; Android is similar.
Notifications
Upon opening the app, you’ll be given the option to receive occasional notifications from BAS.
We planned to use push notifications like “meeting tonight” or “open evening tonight”. Hopefully, if they gain traction, they’ll also be useful for alerting people to changes or cancellations. After all, less is more with push notifications.
The notifications on iOS look like this:
Android will be similar.
Technical Overview
For tech enthusiasts, this isn’t a traditional native app but rather a Progressive Web App (PWA). A PWA is a web page specifically designed to behave like an app. This means BAS can frequently update the app without needing to release it through the Apple App Store or Google Play.